The invention relates to a displacement device comprising a first part and a second part which can be displaced with respect to each other in at least an X-direction and a Y-direction perpendicularly thereto, the first part comprising a carrier which extends substantially parallel to the X-direction and the Y-direction and on which a system of magnets is secured in accordance with a pattern of rows extending parallel to the X-direction, and columns extending parallel to the Y-direction, an equal distance being present between the rows and between the columns, and magnets of a first type, having a magnetization direction which extends at right angles to the carrier and towards the second part, and magnets of a second type, having a magnetization direction which extends at right angles to the carrier and away from the second part, being alternately arranged in each row and in each column, and a magnet of a third type being arranged in each column between each pair of juxtaposed magnets of the first and the second type, which magnet of a third type has a magnetization direction which extends parallel to the Y-direction and towards the magnet of the first type, while the second part is provided with an electric coil system comprising at least one electric coil of a first type which has current conductors which are situated in a magnetic field of the system of magnets and which include an angle of substantially 45xc2x0 with the X-direction, and comprising at least one electric coil of a second type, which has current conductors which are also situated in the magnetic field of the system of magnets and which include an angle of substantially 45xc2x0 with the X-direction, and said current conductors extending perpendicularly to the current conductors of the first electric coil.
Such a displacement device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5, 886,432 and can be used, inter alia, in a wafer stepper for manufacturing integrated circuits. The device enables very accurate and rapid displacements in the X and Y-directions to be made. In addition, small displacements in a Z-direction, perpendicularly to the X and Y-directions, are also possible. The displacements depend upon the phase and the size of the current through the coils. In the system of magnets, a so-called Halbach magnet configuration is employed. In this configuration, the magnets of a series of magnets are magnetized such that the magnetization direction of each magnet of a pair of juxtaposed magnets is rotated through 90xc2x0 with respect to the other magnet. The use of such a magnet configuration leads to a stronger magnetic field on the side of the coils and hence to larger forces for displacing the parts with respect to each other. In U.S. Pat. No. 5, 886,432, a number of adjacent columns of magnets in accordance with the Halbach principle are used. The distance between the columns of magnets is equal to the width of a magnet. Consequently, there is air between the columns.
It is an object of the invention to improve the displacement device in accordance with the first paragraph by optimizing the system of magnets.
To achieve this, the displacement device in accordance with the invention is characterized in that in each row of magnets of the first part, also a magnet of the third type is arranged between each pair of juxtaposed magnets of the first and the second type, which magnet of the third type has a magnetization direction extending parallel to the X-direction and towards the magnet of the first type.
Such a configuration of magnets leads to an even stronger magnetic field per unit of area surface, as compared to that obtained using the system of magnets in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 5, 886,432, because, in accordance with the invention, also in the space between the columns magnets are arranged in accordance with a certain pattern, leading to a more efficient configuration of magnets and hence a stronger magnetic field. In fact, a Halbach configuration of magnets is now obtained both in the X-direction and in the Y-direction.
A further improvement of the displacement device is achieved in that the magnets of the first and the second type have an identical square shape with side faces, in that the magnets of the third type are rectangular in shape with side faces, whereby the longest side faces of a magnet of the third type border on the side faces of a magnet of the first and the second type and are just as long as the side faces of the magnet of the first and the second type, and the ratio of the dimension of the shortest side face of a magnet of the third type to the dimension of the longest side face ranging between 0.25 and 0.50. It has been found that this configuration of magnets yields an even stronger magnetic field.
When the parts are displaced with respect to each other by appropriately leading current through the coils, using commutation of the currents, i.e. a place-dependent current in a current conductor, it has been found that the movable part makes a slightly oscillating movement in the X-Y plane. Although the oscillation is only very small, it can be disturbing in applications for which the displacement device is intended, such as in a wafer stepper, but also in a component placement machine, wherein a high accuracy is required. This is caused by the fact that the distribution of the magnetic field over the current conductor changes during the displacement of the coil, resulting in a variable torque exerted on the current conductor and hence on the second part.
These oscillating movements can be reduced in that the electric coil used in the displacement device in accordance with the invention comprises two sets of coils for each type, which are each fed by an n-phase current system, wherein n  greater than 2, and wherein, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the current conductors situated in the effective magnetic field, one set of coils is shifted with respect to the other set of coils over a distance approximately equal to half the pole pitch of the magnets, and wherein the pole pitch of the magnets is defined as the distance between two adjacent diagonal lines on which center points of magnets of the same type, i.e. N and Z, are situated. An explanation for this is that the sum of the Lorentz forces in the coils yield only a minimum torque.
It is further advantageous if the length of the current conductors of the coils, which current conductors are situated in the effective magnetic field, is approximately equal to k times the pole pitch of the magnets, with k being 2, 4, 6, . . . , and the pole pitch of the magnets being defined as the distance between two adjacent diagonal lines on which center points of magnets of the same type are situated. A movement in the longitudinal direction of the current conductors causes the sum of the magnetic field to remain substantially constant, as a result of which fluctuations in the strength are reduced.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.